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I feel fortunate to have grown up with the opportunity to visit family in Norway, spend time with my family in Flandreau, and going to wacipi's [where Native Americans gather for a cultural and social celebration of dancing, singing and visiting. This is a time when Native Americans gather to meet old friends, make new ones, and honor those who have come before them]. Both parts are very dear to my heart.

My mom came to SD at 19 for college but remains a Norwegian citizen. She gave me dual citizenship for most of my life, which I hope to reinstate soon, as it's always been a dream to live in Trondheim, or at least spend an extended period there. My family has a great work life balance, and they have pretty much any medical issue taken care of immediately, which is so comforting (Socialized medicine for the win! It gets paid into by sales tax, so quite literally just buying groceries helps everyone).

Naturally, we grew up putting butter, cinnamon, and sugar on lefse, eating melkesjokolade and jellymen each Christmas, and making treats like cinnamon rolls, krumkake, and fyrstekake. Contrary to popular belief, not all Norwegians eat lutefisk. My mom has actually managed to go her whole life without eating it, as it's more of a regional dish. We also grew up decked out in wool sweaters and cozy undergarments, because in Norway, there's no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes."

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